WhatFinger


In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas

US Navy moves ship launching ceremony due to 'harsh anti-gay laws' in Mississippi



The future USS Portland is already in the water, but it has yet to be commissioned. The ceremony to do so was scheduled to be held in Pascagoula, Mississippi at the end of May, but then the state decided to put its hatred, its bigotry, and its antiquated notions about the 1st Amendment on display. Since we're a hyper-sensitive society that subsists on faux-outrage, we can’t tolerate any of that "religious freedom" nonsense. Super-important dignitaries refused to attend, so the Navy has determined that the christening simply had to be moved. As CBS reports:
Last week, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced his decision to have the newly built USS Portland commissioned in its namesake town instead of where it was built, which was the original plan, reports CBS affiliate KOIN in Portland. The city of Pascagoula in Mississippi has a world-famous shipyard, building vessels for the U.S. military and private companies alike. When the ships are launched, dignitaries of all kinds normally flock for the commissioning ceremonies, but the state's harsh new anti-gay laws may change that. The future USS Portland was successfully launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula on February 13. It had been scheduled to be christened and commissioned there on May 21.
A: I'm surprised that anyone is still allowed to use the word "christened" when discussing a naval vessel. Doesn't that violate the separation of church and state or something? Shouldn't the atheists be protesting? Will someone please set up a Change.org petition to fix this for us? B: It appears that the ceremony was moved, at least in part, because the Mayor of Portland refused to attend if it was held in a backwater, unenlightened, gay-hating state. He was going to make the trip down and slum it among the southern hill folk, but he's changed his mind. Instead, the festivities will be relocated to his northwestern hipster utopia.

Support Canada Free Press


Portland Mayor Charlie Hales canceled the trip after Mississippi enacted legislation criticized as allowing discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. "The First Lady and I were invited by the U.S. Secretary of the Navy to help christen the USS Portland in Mississippi. We will not be taking that trip unless that discriminatory law is repealed," said Hales in a statement. "It would be a shame if the mayor of Portland couldn't attend the christening of the USS Portland, but I will not travel to a state that legalizes bigotry."
That's probably all for the best. Everyone knows that commissioning a ship has a lot to do with sexual politics. Just look at this footage from the last launch: Maybe the Navy knows best. Given the horrific treatment of gays in Mississippi, this just won't fly anymore.


View Comments

Robert Laurie -- Bio and Archives

Robert Laurie’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain.com

Be sure to “like” Robert Laurie over on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. You’ll be glad you did.


Sponsored